ABUJA, Nigeria — The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, SERAP, has asked President Bola Tinubu to order an investigation into more than ₦94.4 billion in petroleum revenues, gas-flaring penalties, and related expenditures.
The group said the Auditor-General of the Federation had flagged the funds as unremitted, unaccounted for, or irregularly spent.
The findings concern the Midstream and Downstream Gas Infrastructure Fund, or MDGIF, and the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, or NUPRC.
SERAP said the questioned transactions were drawn from the Auditor-General’s 2024 Volume II annual report and covered different periods between 2022 and the end of 2024.
The organisation urged Tinubu to direct anti-corruption agencies to establish what happened to the money, recover any public funds improperly withheld or spent, and prosecute anyone found criminally responsible where there is sufficient admissible evidence.
SERAP also gave the government seven days to act before it considers legal proceedings.
Audit Findings Cover Oil Sales and Gas-Flare Penalties
The largest single amount cited by SERAP is ₦38.61 billion in gas-flaring penalties that the NUPRC allegedly collected but failed to remit to the MDGIF.
SERAP said the Auditor-General warned that withholding such revenue could reduce funds available for environmental remediation and contribute to unresolved environmental hazards in affected communities.
A further ₦26.55 billion was identified as revenue from petroleum-product sales that the MDGIF allegedly failed to remit between January 2022 and December 2024.
The audit findings, as presented by SERAP, also include ₦12.48 billion in gas-flaring penalties for 2023 that was allegedly not properly remitted and reported.
Another ₦12.94 billion relates to revenue from natural-gas sales in 2024 that the MDGIF allegedly failed to collect and account for.
SERAP said the Auditor-General recommended that the affected sums be recovered and paid into the Treasury.
The allegations have not been adjudicated, and the document does not indicate that any individual has been convicted or formally charged over the findings.
Consultant Payment Also Questioned
SERAP also highlighted a ₦3.52 billion consultancy payment made by the MDGIF for the recovery of gas-flaring penalties.
According to the group, the Auditor-General found no evidence that the engagement had received presidential approval and raised questions about whether due process and due diligence had been followed.
The report also questioned ₦261.85 million spent on transaction advisers where, according to SERAP, the auditors found no evidence that the work had been carried out.
A separate ₦65.8 million transaction-advisory expenditure in August 2024 was also flagged over procurement procedures.
Taken together, the amounts cited by SERAP exceed ₦94.4 billion.
SERAP Seeks Publication of Financial Records
In its letter dated Saturday, October 3, 2026, and signed by Deputy Director Kolawole Oluwadare, SERAP asked Tinubu to require the MDGIF and NUPRC to publish a detailed accounting of the disputed funds.
The organisation said such a record should identify amounts due, collected, remitted, and recovered, as well as relevant dates, responsible institutions or officials, and the accounts into which payments were made.
SERAP also asked that the MDGIF publish audited financial statements for 2022, 2023, and 2024 and submit them to the Public Accounts Committees of the National Assembly.
The group said the absence of those financial statements had limited legislative oversight and public scrutiny of the fund.
“Every naira identified in the Auditor-General’s report must be properly accounted for, and any oil funds found to have been diverted, misapplied, improperly spent or otherwise unaccounted for must be fully recovered and remitted to the Treasury,” SERAP said.
Group Gives Government Seven Days
SERAP said Tinubu had a particular responsibility to respond because he also serves as Minister of Petroleum Resources.
“These findings concern petroleum-sector institutions and revenues over which the President, as Minister of Petroleum Resources, has a particular responsibility to ensure effective oversight, transparency and accountability,” the organisation said.
SERAP called for disciplinary or criminal proceedings only where investigations establish responsibility and sufficient evidence exists.
“Anyone found responsible should be appropriately sanctioned and prosecuted where sufficient admissible evidence is established, irrespective of status, position or institutional affiliation,” the group said.
It said it would consider court action and other lawful measures if the government, MDGIF, NUPRC, and other relevant authorities did not respond within seven days.
The organisation said the audit issues were significant because some of the disputed revenues — particularly gas-flaring penalties — are intended in part to address environmental damage.
“The findings raise fundamental questions about the integrity, transparency and effectiveness of the management of Nigeria’s petroleum revenues and gas-flaring penalties, involving billions of naira in public funds,” SERAP said.
There was no response from the Presidency, MDGIF, or NUPRC included in the statement.
